had been thus horribly repaid; and that the soldier should be seized, and have these words brauded on his forehead, "The Ungrateful Guest."

4. Oft has it been my lot to mark

A proud, conceited, talking spark,
With eyes that hardly served at most
To guard their master 'gainst a post;
Yet round the world the blade had been,
To see whatever could be seen.
Returning from his finished tour,
Grown ten times perter than before;
Whatever word you chance to drop,
The travelled fool your mouth will stop:
"Sir, if my judgment you'll allow—
I've seen and sure I ought to know"-
So begs you'd pay a due submission,
And acquiesce in his decision.

Two travellers of such a cast,
As o'er Arabia's wilds they passed,
And on their way, in friendly chat,
Now talked of this, and then of that,
Discoursed a while, 'mongst other matter,
Of the chameleon's form and nature.
"A stranger animal," cries one,
"Sure never lived beneath the sun:
A lizard's body lean and long,
A fish's head, a serpent's tongue,
Its foot with triple claw disjoined,
And what a length of tail behind!
How slow its pace! and then its hue-
Who ever saw so fine a blue?"

"Hold there," the other quick replies,
""Tis green-I saw it with these eyes,
As late with open mouth it lay,
And warmed it in the sunny ray;
Stretched at its ease the beast I viewed,
And saw it eat the air for food."

"I've seen it, sir, as well as you,
And must again affirm it blue;
At leisure I the beast surveyed,
Extended in the cooling shade."

""Tis green, 'tis green, sir, I assure ye."
"Green!" cries the other in a fury—

Why, sir, d'ye think I've lost my eyes?" ""Twere no great loss," the friend replies; "For, if they always serve you thus, You'll find them but of little use."

So high at last the contest rose,
From words they almost came to blows;
When luckily came by a third:
To him the question they referred;
And begged he'd tell them if he knew,
Whether the thing was green or blue.

Sirs," cries the umpire, cease your pother; The creature's neither one nor t'other:

I caught the animal last night,
And viewed it o'er by candle-light:
I marked it well-'twas black as jet-
You stare-but, sirs, I've got it yet,
And can produce it." "Pray, sir, do;
I'll lay my life the thing is blue."

"And I'll be sworn, that when you've seen
The reptile, you'll pronounce him green."
"Well then, at once to ease the doubt,"
Replies the
man, "I'll turn him out;
And when before your eyes I've set him,

If

you don't find him black, I'll eat him." He said; then full before their sight

Produced the beast, and, lo! 'twas white! Both stared; the man looked wondrous wise.

66 My children," the chameleon cries,

(Then first the creature found a tongue,) "You all are right, and all are wrong;

When next you talk of what you view,

Think others see as well as you:
Nor wonder if you find that none
Prefers your eyesight to his own."

2. AMPLIFICATION.

Exercise 43.

Let the pupil amplify the following passages, expressing the ideas in sentences of his own construction and arrangement:

EXAMPLE.

A boy, greatly smitten with the colours of a butterfly, pursued it with indefatigable pains, and made every effort to capture it. At length he caught it in the cup of a tulip, and in his ardour crushed it to pieces. The dying insect said to him that all pleasure was like a painted butterfly. If he embraced it too greedily, it would perish in his grasp.

Paragraph.

A boy, greatly smitten with the colours of a butterfly, pursued it from flower to flower with indefatigable pains. First he aimed to surprise it among the leaves of a rose; then attempted to cover it with his hat, as it was feeding on a daisy; now hoped to secure it as it rested on a sprig of myrtle; and next grew sure of his prize, perceiving it to loiter on a bed of violets. But the fickle fly, continually changing from one blossom to another, still eluded his attempts. At length, observing it half-buried in the cup of a tulip, he rushed forward, and, snatching it with violence, crushed it to pieces. The dying insect, seeing the poor boy chagrined at his disappointment, addressed him with all the calmness of a stoic, in these words :-" Behold now the end of thy unprofitable solicitude! and learn, for the benefit of thy future life, that all pleasure is but a painted butterfly; which, although it may serve to amuse thee in the pursuit, if embraced with too much ardour, will perish in thy grasp."

1. A fox, being inclined to play a practical joke upon his neighbour the stork, asked him to dinner, which he caused to be served up in broad shallow dishes. The stork, perceiving the trick, took no notice, but, at parting, pressed the fox very much to return the visit. When the day arrived, and he repaired to his appointment, reynard was very much displeased to see the dinner served up in long narrownecked glasses. "They that cannot take a jest," said the

stork, "should never make one."

2. Alexander the Great, having taken Sidon, ordered one of his generals to bestow the crown upon the citizen who seemed to be most worthy, when he offered it to two brothers in whose house he was quartered. Both, however, refused it, stating that it was contrary to the laws for any one to wear the crown, who was not of the royal family, and, at the same time, recommending Abdolonymus, whom misfortune had reduced to the necessity of cultivating a small garden in the suburbs of the city. Abdolonymus was weeding his garden, when the messengers went to him, and at first thought that they were insulting his poverty, when they saluted him as king; but at last he was prevailed upon to go to the palace, and accept the regal office. Pride and envy created him so many enemies, that Alexander sent for him, and inquired with what temper of mind he had borne his poverty. "I pray," replied Abdolonymus, "that I may bear my crown with equal moderation." Alexander was so highly pleased with his answer, that he confirmed him in the throne, and added a neighbouring province to his gov

ernment.

3. Once I beheld a captive, whom these wars
Had made an inmate of the prison-house,
Cheering with wicker-work (that almost seemed
To him a sort of play) his dreary hours.
I asked his story: in my native tongue
(Long use had made it easy as his own),
He answered thus:-Before these wars began,
I dwelt upon the willowy banks of Loire :

I married one, who, from my boyish days,

Had been my playmate. One morn,—I'll ne'er forget !—
While busy choosing out the prettiest twigs,
To warp a cradle for our child unborn,
We heard the tidings, that the conscript lot
Had fallen on me: it came like a death-knell,
The mother perished, but the babe survived;
And ere my parting day, his rocking couch
I made complete, and saw him sleeping smile,-
The smile that played upon the cheek of her
Who lay clay-cold. Alas! the hour soon came
That forced my fettered arms to quit my child:
And whether now he lives to deck with flowers
The sod upon his mother's grave, or lies beneath it
By her side, I ne'er could learn :

I think he's gone; and now I only wish
For liberty and home, that I may see,

And stretch myself, and die upon that grave.

4. Androcles, the slave of a noble Roman, who was proconsul of Africa, having fled into the deserts to escape punishment for some offence, went into a cave, in which he had scarcely seated himself, when a huge lion entered, and, coming up to him, laid its paw upon his lap. When he had recovered from his fright, he pulled out a large thorn, which he observed had caused the lion's foot to swell; upon which the grateful animal went away, and soon after returned with a fawn, which it had just killed. For many days he was supported in the same manner; till, tired of this savage society, he determined to give himself up to his master. He was condemned to fight with wild beasts in the amphitheatre at Rome. When the day at last arrived, and everything was ready, a monstrous lion sprang from its den; but it no sooner saw Androcles, than it fell to the ground, and began to lick his feet. It was his friend of the African deserts; and the spectators having heard the story, interceded for the slave, who was immediately set at liberty, and received the lion as a present. He used to lead it through the streets